


The Essence of Satisfaction

by chajatta



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Established Relationship, Judging discourse, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Phone Sex, SCI 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2021-01-30 22:07:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21435457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chajatta/pseuds/chajatta
Summary: Yuzu finally wins Skate Canada, and a little thing like distance isn't going to stop him celebrating with the one person who knows just how much this victory means to him.
Relationships: Javier Fernández/Yuzuru Hanyu
Comments: 8
Kudos: 106





	The Essence of Satisfaction

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this came to me, as all good ideas do, at 4 in the morning when I was watching the victory ceremony at Skate Canada. 
> 
> Trying to decipher my half-delirious and sleep deprived notes was less fun. 
> 
> Work will be locked after five days.

**received 20.16:** skate chanada??? more like skate HANada  
**received 20.18:** 322.59 woooooow congrats bby im so proud of u  
**received 20.22:** call me when u can ill be up ❤️

The hours immediately following a competition are always hectic. Yuzu has things to do, people to talk to, myriad media commitments. It can feel endless, sometimes, relentless, but at least when he’s riding high on a win, especially one like this, the euphoria is more than enough to carry him through. 

He never sees his messages until much later, but after nearly ten years on the senior circuit his loved ones are more than used to periods of radio silence from Yuzu. Besides, it’s nice, climbing into the back of the van with Ghislain and having a flood of congratulations and well wishes to keep the joy alive all the way back to the hotel. 

Yuzu scrolls through his texts and LINE notifications. It’s past eleven pm in Canada, so Yuzu replies to the messages from his immediate family and resolves to deal with the rest in the morning. The texts from Javi, though? Those have warmth pooling in the depths of his belly, a secret little smile curling up over his mouth. 

He’s about to tap out a quick reply, but then the van pulls into the hotel car park and Ghislain ushers him out with a hand on the small of his back. Once they reach the hotel lobby, Ghislain pulls Yuzu into one final, bone crushing bear hug. ‘_Great work today, kiddo,_’ he whispers, voice low and so incredibly fond in Yuzu’s ear as he buries his face in Ghislain’s shoulder. They part ways, Ghislain watching to make sure Yuzu makes it to the lift okay. The wheels of his suitcase click on the smooth marble floor as Yuzu pulls it along behind him to his hotel room.

The door pops open with a happy little chime when Yuzu swipes his keycard. He locks up behind him, slips out of his shoes and jacket, and abandons his suitcase in the hallway. The small suite is silent, dark, so Yuzu pads around, flicking on the lamps either side of the bed. It’s incredibly tempting to throw himself down and call Javi right away, but Yuzu needs to shower first so he heads into the bathroom and strips off. 

Competition days are always long and the adrenaline is still coursing through his veins, keeping him keyed up, but he feels grimy, dirty with dried sweat. The hot shower is soothing and he spends longer in there than he maybe should, taking the time to wash his hair, clean his body. It served him well today and Yuzu should take care of it in return. He closes his eyes and lets the water pound on the crown of his head, sliding in soapy rivers down his neck and the slope of his shoulders. 

It isn’t long before his mind begins to wander. Yuzu runs his hands absently up and down his arms, over his biceps, lingering at the crease of his elbows. It feels good, _he_ feels good, finally putting out a free skate like that. It still isn’t everything that Yuzu wants and there is still an awful lot of work to be done, but he’s satisfied, pleased with his performance today. 

If he stays in here much longer his fingers are going to start pruning up so Yuzu forces himself out of the shower. He towels his hair dry, patting at it until it’s fluffy and damp, parted unevenly across his forehead, and then takes a moment to admire himself in the mirror. 

Yuzu is familiar with his body, every patch of skin, each muscle and bone. He has to be, in a sport like this, that asks for so very much from the athletes that pursue it. But it’s been changing, this last year or so. He’s still slim, but Yuzu isn’t ignorant to the way he’s bulked out. His thighs are thicker and his shoulders look broader. He feels strong. Yuzu smiles at his reflection, all of it, from the fading bruises on his hips to the sharp cut of his abs. 

His dick twitches against his thigh but Yuzu ignores it. He isn’t going to indulge himself now, not when he still has a phone call to make. Instead Yuzu turns away from the mirror and pulls on the hotel robe, knotting it loosely around his waist so that it hangs open, showing a generous amount of his chest. Yuzu grabs his wash bag from the side of the sink, digs his phone out of his jacket pocket on the way through the suite, and then throws himself down on the bed. 

The pillowcase is cold and smooth beneath his cheek. Yuzu allows himself to luxuriate there for a moment, the silence of the hotel room all encompassing. It always feels strange, this in between space. After the tension of a competition and the inevitable furore that follows, the moments when he’s finally alone, tired but thrumming with energy, always feel like a weird sort of suspension. 

Usually he’d review tape, do some cooling down exercises, a little yoga. Yuzu still intends to do all of those things, but there’s something else that needs seeing to first, something far more pressing than any of that. 

The phone rings two, three, four times before Javi picks up. 

“Yuzuru, mi vida, gold medallist of my heart,” Javi coos, not even giving Yuzu a chance to say hello. He rolls his eyes.

“Hi Javi.” Yuzu presses a few buttons on his phone and swaps to a video call, Javi’s face springing into view. He’s wearing a hoodie that’s only zipped half way up and Yuzu wants to bury his face in the bared expanse of Javi’s neck. 

“There you are,” Javi says, more softly this time. Yuzu smoothes out his damp hair and smiles. “Congratulations on finally winning Skate Canada. You deserved it.”

Yuzu smiles even more broadly. “Thank you. I work really, really hard for this. Thinking maybe I should call Patrick, thank him for not coming.”

Javi laughs, loud and delighted. “I’m sure he’d love that.” Javi smiles fondly. “Where is it? Your medal?”

“In my luggage. Is very precious to me, I have to keep safe.”

“Can I see?”

Yuzu nods. He props his phone carefully against the pillows and then clambers from his bed. The gold medal is tucked into one of his socks and Yuzu extracts it carefully, wrapping the ribbon tightly around his fingers. It still feels half surreal, like this is some kind of fleeting fever dream, but the medal is heavy and real in the palm of his hand. 

Javi is humming when Yuzu returns to the bed and it’s such a familiar little sound that it makes Yuzu ache for all the times he’d heard it, changing together in the locker room after a hard practice or curled around each other in Javi’s bed on a lazy late summer morning. He’d taken the sound for granted, then, but it tethers him now, strengthens his spirit.

“Oh it’s a pretty one,” Javi breathes as Yuzu lies on his stomach in front of the phone and holds the medal up, turning it this way and that for Javi’s pleasure. It glints in the soft yellow light like a diamond. “Put it on for me?” 

Like Yuzu needs any encouragement. He pushes himself up onto his elbows and loops the ribbon over his head, dropping the medal down with a thunk against the bare skin of his chest. His robe is gaping open and Yuzu sees Javi’s gaze travel down, lingering on the pink peaks of his nipples, then his medal, before finally dragging back up to Yuzu’s face. His gaze is warm. 

“It suits you.”

“Really?” Yuzu asks, fishing blatantly for the compliment. Javi obliges him, as always. 

“Yeah, really. You always look extra pretty when you win.”

Yuzu laughs and tucks a strand of hair behind his ear.

“It feel so good, really. I been-“ Yuzu hesitates. He swallows hard and takes his medal in hand, staring down at it as he speaks. “I been so worried, since Autumn Classic. I thinking maybe my skating isn’t good enough anymore, maybe- maybe I can’t catch Nathan, and maybe my score at Autumn Classic is trying to telling me-“ Yuzu lifts his gaze and corrects himself. “Trying to tell me, give up.” 

Javi’s expression is difficult to read. None of what Yuzu’s saying is news to him; Javi has been privy to all of his deepest, darkest thoughts since Autumn Classic, and even further back than that. His retirement has allowed them both to be infinitely more open than they ever could have been in the past. But however hard it undoubtedly is for Javi to hear it all again, it’s harder still for Yuzu to say it. Except he knows he needs to, he needs to deal with this now, at the place that it’s potentially, partially resolved, so that the thoughts don’t fester, dogging him for the rest of the season. 

“Today is really huge thing, for me. Getting gold medal is nice, really nice, but I thinking- I don’t just needing to win, I needing to be- convincing? Get good scores, know that judges can see my quality, so I knowing I get points I deserve.”

Javi nods thoughtfully. “And do you feel like that’s what you got today?”

“Yeah. Is not perfect. I can be better and judges also, I think that there are still problems.” Yuzu sighs. “So many problems. But today, I just feeling really, really good.” He slumps down onto his elbows and presses his cheek into the mattress. “It feel so good to _win_, finally. Feeling like I didn’t win anything in so long.”

“You still won Autumn Classic, you know,” Javi says, but he’s smiling even as he says it, teasing. Yuzu rolls his eyes. 

“Not good enough. Don’t _feel_ like win.” Yuzu pushes himself back up onto one elbow and holds his medal again, feeling it resting cool against his fingers. “Today is feeling like, confirming for me. I can still do this. If I skating my best, skating clean, I can win. I can get gold.”

Javi stays quiet for a while and when Yuzu looks up the expression on his face, even tiny like it is through Yuzu’s phone screen, is surprisingly serious. 

“You know how proud I am of you, don’t you?” 

Yuzu releases his medal, lets it thunk against his bare chest. He picks up his phone, anything to make it feel like Javi is closer, rather than thousands of miles away. Yuzu nods. He does know, even if it’s taken him years to feel like he’s worthy of that pride, like he deserves it.

“I am _so_ proud of you, cariño. Always.” Yuzu’s heart clenches between his ribs but he says nothing, just lets Javi continue. “What you’re doing really isn’t easy, but you have so much integrity and so much heart and everybody can see that.”

_Heart_. If anyone truly knows what it means to have heart it’s Javi. Javi has more heart than anyone Yuzu knows. 

“I just thinking I have to do it. I don’t have choice, I can’t turn away from challenge. Not from Nathan or from judging,” Yuzu says. “I won’t quit. Not until I’m ready.”

Yuzu’s view of Javi goes jerky for a moment, blurry, like he’s losing connection. But then Javi comes back into shot, curled up comfortably on his sofa. He’s closer to the screen now, close enough that Yuzu could almost reach out and touch him, nuzzle their noses together, feel Javi’s beard scratching his face as they kiss. He’s so lost in it, the fantasy of that phantom touch, that Yuzu almost misses when Javi starts to speak again. 

“That’s why you’ll always be the champion, no matter what.” 

The things Javi says - they shouldn’t still affect him like this, but that’s heat, sure as anything, that surges in his chest. It’s like being a teenager again, the way that Javi will say things like that and Yuzu just _believes_ him, can feel his conviction through the phone and across the oceans. It’s the kind of magnetic draw that led Yuzu to pick up his entire life and move to Canada.

Yuzu shifts to lie down on his side, phone held loosely in one hand in front of him. Like this Yuzu can pretend they’re lying in bed together, that Javi is within touching distance, the heat of him just a few inches away. 

“It was nice, sharing podium with friends today,” Yuzu says, like Javi hasn’t just set his heart racing. He doesn’t need to say anything - Javi knows exactly the kind of power his words have, he always has. Javi smiles and nods. 

“Yeah, I bet.” Javi is playing absently with the zipper on his hoodie and Yuzu watches him, eyes sharp like a hawk, as his fingers toy with the metal, twisting it. “I spoke to Nam earlier and he was telling me how much he enjoyed being on the podium with you, especially when you were both so happy.” Javi pauses. “Almost like old times.”

“Mm almost,” Yuzu says. “If only Javi would be there to share it, too, would be perfect.”  
Javi’s entire countenance goes soft, his hand stilling on his zip. Yuzu wants to kiss each of his knuckles, feel the bones against his lips, beneath his tongue. 

“I miss you, Javi.”

Javi exhales and Yuzu hears it, crackling like a log fire as it comes through his phone speaker. 

“I miss you, too,” Javi sighs. “Very much.”

It’s a little ridiculous, the way they’re mooning over each other like this. They’d seen each other at Autumn Classic, after all, and if having their pictures snapped and plastered all over the internet wasn’t exactly the private reunion Yuzu had wanted then they’d certainly made up for it later. Javi had come to stay at his place once the competition was over and they’d made love in every room in the house, hardly able to keep their hands off each other. 

That hadn’t been so many weeks ago. They’ve certainly been apart for longer and Yuzu is used to going for stretches of time without sex. As much as he enjoys it when he does allow himself the indulgence it’s no particular hardship going without. Yuzu can’t use any of that as an excuse and yet he misses Javi all the same. It’s a deep, raw kind of aching that persists, sticking to Yuzu’s heart no matter what he does. 

“Are you tired?” Javi asks. 

Yuzu shakes his head. He _is_ tired, but not in that way. He isn’t ready to sleep. There’s still too much adrenaline in his system, keeping him pumped up and wired. If he wasn’t speaking to Javi then Yuzu would be reviewing footage, instead, but he’ll have plenty of time for that later. Yuzu knows what his priority is right now. 

“No,” Yuzu says. He curls around his phone, bringing his knees up into the foetal position. “Wishing very much that I could kiss you right now.”

“Oh yeah? What makes you think I want a kiss?”

Yuzu licks his lips deliberately, taking his time, flicking his tongue out. “I don’t think, I _know_,” Yuzu says. He can see the way Javi is staring. “Javi always telling me when we kissing, ‘_you have magic mouth_.’” Yuzu does the best approximation he can of Javi’s accent and he’s rewarded when Javi laughs, his entire face lighting up. “Sometimes when I’m doing other things, too.”

“Especially when you’re doing other things.” Javi huffs and Yuzu can see the way he shuffles, shifting his weight on the sofa. “What else would you do, if I were there with you?”

Yuzu smiles. This is a game they like to play, when they can’t be together. Asking what each other wants, saying what they’d do to each other. It had been a little embarrassing, at first, spelling out his desires like that, but mostly it had been hard work trying to articulate them into English. But Yuzu is nothing if not a diligent student and after a lot of practice he likes to think he’s become more than a little proficient. 

“Well..” Yuzu draws the word out, long and syrupy. “Thinking first I take off your hoodie.” He pauses for effect and Javi gets the hint. He always does. He takes up his zip again and pulls it down, inch by inch, revealing a canvas of clear, tanned skin. Yuzu wants to mouth his way down it, kissing and sucking, more than almost anything else. “Then I putting my magic mouth on Javi’s throat, kissing there, to chest, maybe even down to belly.”

There’s a chuff of breath and when Yuzu looks he can see Javi’s arm working, his hand just out of shot. He won’t be touching himself, not yet. He’s probably stroking his fingers over his abdomen, teasing his fingers through the trail of hair leading down from his naval the way Yuzu likes to. The way Yuzu wishes he was doing right now. 

“Can I take your robe off?” Javi asks. Yuzu nods and pushes himself upright into a sitting position. He repositions his phone to make sure Javi still has a good view of his entire body and then begins to peel off his robe, shrugging slowly out of it. Javi makes an appreciative sound when Yuzu unfastens the ties and finally pulls it off, leaving himself naked except for his medal. Yuzu sets the robe aside and slides his fingers beneath the ribbon. 

“How about this?” Yuzu knows what Javi’s answer will be, but he poses the question anyway. 

“Leave it on.”

Yuzu obliges. He slides his fingers down, dances them over the medal, and then down his chest, stopping once he’s at his belly. “I thinking- since I’m _champion_, I want to lie back and let Javi suck my dick.”

Javi groans, sure as day. His hand has moved and he’s almost definitely touching himself now, but Yuzu doesn’t mind overly. His own dick is hard against his stomach and Yuzu gasps when he touches it, stroking his palm over the head. 

“God, yeah. I could do that for you.” Yuzu lets himself imagine it, the wet heat of Javi’s mouth around him, his beard tickling the smooth skin on the inside of Yuzu’s thighs. Yuzu would stroke his fingers over Javi’s cheeks, just to feel himself there, and if Javi looked up at him with those big brown eyes of his, the way he’s doing right now over the phone, Yuzu can’t promise that he wouldn’t come down his throat.

“Nice. Always so nice, Javi’s mouth,” Yuzu breathes. He’s leaking onto his palm and Yuzu spreads the slick, staring down at Javi as he does. 

“I love doing it for you, you know?” Javi’s voice is pitched low and Yuzu can feel it right in the pit of his stomach, making his whole body tremble. He spreads his legs wider and works his touch down, cupping his balls in his damp palm, rolling them, fighting the urge to close his eyes and pretend it’s Javi doing it. “I love the way you feel in my mouth, how you go pink all over.” Javi pauses for a second. “Those cute, breathy little noises you make when I take you right into the back of my mouth.”

One of those very noises must spill from his mouth because Javi laughs, a gorgeous sound that makes Yuzu want to crawl through the phone screen and _devour_ him. 

“Yeah, just like that, god,” Javi says. “What else would you like, baby? Do you want to come in my mouth?”

As appealing as that sounds right now, as appealing as anything that would allow him body contact with Javi, their skin touching everywhere, the warm, solid weight of Javi’s muscles against him, would be. If Javi were here, that’s not what Yuzu would want. 

“No, I wanna-“ Yuzu starts. He strokes his fingers over the drooling head of his dick and then lets go, shifting forward onto his hands and knees. It’s always such a heady feeling when they do this, knowing that Javi is watching him, and the sound of Javi’s breath hitching as Yuzu prostrates himself arrows right to the pit of his stomach. “If Javi’s here, I want you to fuck me.”

Yuzu can hear Javi breathing hard as he reaches over for his forgotten wash bag and digs out the travel size lube he’d brought with him. The temptation to sit back on his haunches, to ride his fingers while Javi watches, his whole body and the gold medal it had taken him so many years to win on full display, is strong. Instead, Yuzu moves one of the pillows along the bed, props his phone against it, and then lies himself down, curled on his side so that he’s facing Javi. It feels more intimate like this. If Yuzu were to close his eyes he could imagine Javi in the bed beside him, warm hands on his thighs as he pulls Yuzu’s legs around his hips, slips inside. 

“Want it like this,” Yuzu says. He looks away from Javi to rip open the packet of lube and slick up his fingers, rubbing them together to warm it up.

“Look at me, baby. Let me see your face.” 

Yuzu obeys, tilting his chin up. Javi has moved, too, so that he’s lying across his sofa, mirroring Yuzu’s own position. 

“There he is,” Javi murmurs, hushed and private, tender. “My winner, my champion.” 

“_Javi_,” Yuzu breathes and Javi chuckles. Yuzu can almost feel the little puff of breath on his lips. 

“We could do it like this,” Javi starts. He’s whispering for real now and Yuzu shifts closer, pulling his legs up, knees almost to his chest. “Would you like that? Both of us curled together, me holding you close?” Yuzu slides his hand over his dick while Javi talks and then down between his legs, stroking over his entrance. 

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Yuzu works two fingers in easily, spurred on by the way Javi moans, his breathing picking up. “Just want you here, with me-“ Yuzu crooks his fingers, rubbing himself as he slides in. He’s been riled up ever since he left the arena earlier and Yuzu knows exactly how to touch himself now to get right to that edge. “Want- _Javi_\- oh, want to kiss you, while you’re inside me.”

“I want it too.” He has a hand between his own legs and Yuzu watches as Javi works himself, rolling his balls in his palm. The head of his dick is pink and wet and Yuzu _aches_, clenching hard around his fingers. “I want to kiss you everywhere. Your jaw, your throat. I want to lick your nipples-“ Javi heaves in a deep breath. Yuzu takes the opportunity, sliding another finger in and working them all down deep, until he’s cupping his own ass in the palm of his hand. “Kiss that perfect mouth.”

“Please-“ Yuzu’s wrist is starting to ache from the position he’s holding his hand in, but it’s worth it for the way it lets him rock his hips, working back on his fingers so they press hard against his prostate. 

“Yeah? Is that how you want it?” Yuzu nods, half frantic. It’s hard to get the friction he wants like this so Yuzu rolls half onto his front, one leg spreading wide open. He almost kicks his phone over and Yuzu curses, fumbling for it with his free hand. 

“Fuck, _shit_-“ Yuzu whines, twisting his wrist so that he can really feel it. “Javi I’m gonna come-“ His medal is pressed between Yuzu’s body and the bed, cool where it’s trapped against his chest. Yuzu hopes it leaves a mark, a deep red welt against his skin. 

“You- god you’re amazing, you look incredible.” There’s the wet sound of Javi stripping himself hard and Yuzu’s eyes fall closed. He shoves his face into the pillow and lets out an almighty moan. “That’s it, Yuzu, that’s it. Come on baby,” Javi’s rambling now but it’s okay, all Yuzu needs to hear is the sound of his voice, coaxing him over the precipice. “Come on my dick, come on.”

“_Oh_-“ Yuzu shifts his hips, rubbing his dick into the mattress, and that last little bit of stimulation is all he needs. He clamps down tight around his fingers, and if it’s not the thick length of Javi’s cock, like he really wants, then it’s good enough. Yuzu vaguely registers the sound of Javi groaning his name but everything on his periphery is foggy, warped like he’s under water. 

Yuzu lies prone for a moment before mustering up the energy to pull his fingers free. He doesn’t move beyond that, arm flung out to one side and chest heaving. It’s too much effort, especially when he could just lie here instead, the sweat cooling on his skin, the sound of Javi’s panting breaths in his ear. 

“Hey, are you okay?”

Javi always strokes his hair after, smoothing it up out of his face and tucking it behind his ears. He’d kiss Yuzu’s forehead and then head to the bathroom, come back with a warm washcloth to wipe Yuzu down with. Yuzu will have to do that for himself later, but for now he’s content to roll over onto his side, face still half mushed into the pillow. His belly is sticky with come and Yuzu runs his fingers through it, watching Javi slyly as he does. 

“Mm, thinking more than okay. I’m so happy, Javi.”

The smile that stretches across Javi’s mouth makes Yuzu feel warm all over, his worn body tingling. 

“Good. You deserve it.” 

Javi is sat back up now and Yuzu watches as he cleans himself up with a wad of tissues. Yuzu desperately needs to do the same. His muscles are growing heavy and the longer he waits the harder it will be to drag himself out of bed, but he just wants one more minute with Javi, the two of them ensconced in this moment. These are some of his favourite memories with Javi, in the comedown afterwards. The two of them, tangled together, at ease and so in touch with each other, in tune, the doors to their hearts thrown wide open. 

“Yuzu.” At the sound of his name Yuzu’s eyes snap open. He hadn’t realised he was falling asleep, drifting away. Javi is watching him fondly. 

“M’awake.” 

“Not for very much longer.” Javi has rolled onto his stomach, phone held in front of him so that his face fills the entire screen. “You’ve had a really long day, you must be exhausted.” 

Yuzu nods. He is exhausted, but it’s the bone deep satisfaction of knowing he put out a good skate, and Yuzu welcomes it. He’s dealt with far too much of the other kind of exhaustion recently. 

“Get some sleep, alright sweetheart? We’ll speak again soon.” 

Yuzu sighs and shifts, shuffling closer to his phone. “When I get back to Toronto. Want to talking with you about Málaga show. The preparation, how it’s going. How’s Spain. Family and Effie. So much I want to talking about.”

“We will,” Javi soothes. “But for now just get yourself cleaned up and then go to bed, okay?” 

“Hai.”

Javi kisses the tips of his index and forefingers, then presses them to the screen, obscuring Yuzu’s view of his face. Yuzu’s heart flops in his chest and he does the same with his clean hand, so that their fingers touching. 

“I love you. And I’m so proud of you. Always, but especially today.” 

Yuzu pulls his hand away slowly, then props his chin on his palm. 

“Love you, too.” 

It’s always been easy for Javi, saying things like that, baring his entire heart. Yuzu still struggles with it, and perhaps he always will, but it’s something he’s working on, steadfast and determined. Besides, it’s not like they don’t have ways of showing it. The two of them have spent the last seven years of their lives communicating without words and Yuzu thinks Javi is better at reading him, by now, than almost anyone else in the world. 

They say a few more soft, tender good nights, neither of them particularly eager to end the call. Finally, though, they do and the silence in Yuzu’s suite feels pressing, weighing on his shoulders. Yuzu pushes himself up onto his elbows, then his knees, wincing when his medal unsticks from his chest. Yuzu pulls it over his head carefully, fingers rubbing at the mark it’s left, right in the centre of his ribcage. 

Yuzu folds it back into his sock and sequesters it away into his suitcase. He gives himself a perfunctory wipe down in the bathroom and Yuzu is just unfolding his yoga mat, ready to do his usual bedtime routine, when his phone pings, twice in quick succession. It could be another well-wisher but Yuzu knows in his heart, without even having to look, who it is. 

**received 00.42:** ur always number 1 in my heart 🏅🐐  
**received 00.42:** sweet dreams ❤️

Yuzu sends back a single, purple heart and then puts his phone away. His own heart feels full, like it’s being cradled in the palms of Javi’s hands, kept safe.

So much had been riding on this weekend. There still are so many things Yuzu wants to work on, so many things for him to improve, but his faith feels renewed, a fire burning bright in his chest. And with support like this, his coaches, and his family, _Javi_, who must have stayed up all night just to support him all the way from Madrid, how can he ever possibly lose.

**Author's Note:**

> I can be found on twitter @chanbubbles, please feel free to come and say hi!


End file.
